90th Labour Company

[Guest Eisley]

Hi. My main question here is "Where can I find more details about the 90th Labour Company?"

I am researching details of varous Great Grandparents and one is confusing me a great deal. He was a member of the Queen's Royal West Surrey when he fought in the Boer War but he was discharged in 1902. That bit makes sense. However, he also fought in WWI so he must have joined up again but I don't know if it was for the same regiment and I'm starting to think it wasn't.

In WWI, he received the Military Medal when he served with the 90th Labour Company, XIII Corps, 4th Army. However, finding details about this medal are proving difficult as the medals office said to refer to the information published in the London Gazette (20th August 1919) but this just lists him and offers no details.

I can not find any mention of the 90th Labour Company anywhere and, therefore, don't even know where to start with finding the company or regimental records. In fact, I don't even know if the 90th Labour Company was part of a regiment or not.

Anyone have any ideas where I could find more information or where the records would be?

Thanks a lot,

James.

[Ivor Lee]

James

The 90th Labour Company were part of the Labour Corps.

The bad news is that many of the Companies including this one did not keep their own War Diaries.

However from other War Diaries I have details of 90 Company from the time they arrived in France in March 1917 until April 1919.

As far as I am aware two men in 90 Company were awarded the MM. One was an oriiginal member of the Company and the other joined it in 1918.

If you contact me off list with your email address and also your Great Grandfather's details I will send you the information I have about the Company relevant to him.

[Guest Yve1962]

My Great Grandfather's twin brother was in the 90th Labour Coy, although as James says it is very difficult trying to find information about them. From one article that I read it states that men tended to be less than A1 fit and were considered inferior to other units (?) this seems hard to imagine when I understand that they spent long periods of time within range of and under enemy fire.

Any information about where they were and what they did would be gratefully received.

Yvonne

[themonsstar]

This is from John Starlings research on the LC 90 Coy

Formed as 25^th Labour Company King’s Liverpool Regiment

29 Mar 17

Arrived France 3 Officers & 495 ORs

5 May 17

Units: 4 Coy Seaforth (15 Coy), 25 Coy Liverpools (90 Coy) – III Corps Diary

8 Aug 17

15 (49 Gp), 90 (49 Gp) & 707 Coys mentioned – III Corps Diary

22 Oct 17

1 pl 90 Coy – move from FAVREVIL to FREMICOURT (IV Corps) – for urgent work on gun positions. – VI Corps Diary

4 Nov 17

1 pl 90 Coy – move from FREMICOURT to FAVREVIL – VI Corps Diary

18 Dec 17

90 Coy – FINS – ammo railheads sos to 5^th Army – 3^rd Army Diary

31 Dec 17

VII Corps. (11 white, 4 Indian, 2 Area) – 5^th Army Diary

47 Gp (NURLU) – 14, 57, 90, 107 & 173 Coys

19 Jan 18

90 Coy and 70 (Kumaon) Ind Coy – sos to Cavalry Corps – VII Corps Diary

13 Jan 18

90 Coy and 70 (Kumaon) & 21 (UP) Ind Coys – sos VII Cps to Cav Cps

69 Gp & 285 Coy – transferred to Cavalry Corps from VII Corps – 5^th Army Diary

31 Jan 18

Cavalry Corps. (7 ¼ white, 8 Indian, 2 Area) – 5^th Army Diary

69 Gp (PERONNE) – 88, 90 Coys and 285 Area Coy

22 (Khasi), 25 (UP), 56 (Khasi), 69 (Garo) & 70 (Kumaons) Ind Coys

28 Feb 18

Cavalry Corps. (7 ¼ white, 8 Indian, 2 Area) – 5^th Army Diary

50 Gp (PERONNE) – 88, 90 Coys and 285 Area Coy

140 Coy CLC and 22 (Khasi), 25 (UP), 56 (UP), Ind Coys

28 Feb 18

90 Coy – tos VOYENNES (37 Gp) from Cavalry Corps – ADLR – XVIII Corps Diary

4 Mar 18

90 Coy & 70 (Kumaon) Ind Coy – letter from 5^th Army congratulating them on their work with the Canadian Railway Troops. – GHQ Diary

7 Mar 18

90 Coy – move from VOYENNES to CANIZY – ADLR – XVIII Corps Diary

18 Mar 18

90 Coy – CANIZY – XVIII Corps Diary

23 Mar 18

7.30 p.m. – 83 & 90 Coys – urgent tasking 150 men to ROYE station to unload ammo and 100 men to dump at CARRE-PUITS to unload lorries – XVIII Corps Diary

23 Apr 18

90 Coy – tos CAMON working on forward roads – III Corps Diary

26 Apr 18

67 Gp (34, 59, 90, 103, 156, 166? & 193 Coys and 281 Area Coy) – sos to III Corps – ANZAC Corps Diary

31 May 18

90, 193 & 709 Coys - to 61 Gp – ANZAC Corps Diary

18 Jul 18

83 & 90 Coys – LONGEAU siding – ANZAC Corps Diary

5 Aug 18

90 Coy – location CAMON – ANZAC Corps Diary

90 & 105 Coys and 281 Area Coys – move to 63 Gp

10 Aug 18

90 & 144 Coys – tos VECQUEMONT (63 Gp) – BG rail – ANZAC Corps Diary

14 Sep 18

59, 44, 74, 90, & 177 Coys – to 47 Gp – ANZAC Corps Diary

3 Oct 18

90 Coy and 281 & 743 Area Coys – sos to 4^th Army Area – ANZAC Corps Diary

28 Nov 18

Tos LE CATEAU from 4^th Army – 3^rd Army Diary

[Guest Yve1962]

Thank you - that is wonderful info. Very much appreciated.

Yvonne

[johneowens]

Hi, themonsstar

 

I've been directed to your post by jim1 on rootschat: http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=799861.new#new

 

I'm interested in the war journey of Mark Royell "Roy" McConville (b.7 Sep 1887) who married my grandmother's sister, Kazia Esther "Cassie" (nee Allen) on Christmas day 1916 in Liverpool as a possible explanation as to why Cassie is recorded in about September 1917 as a nurse/doctor's assistant at the Rochford Hospital, Essex, which is a long way away from Liverpool. Cassie subsequently died in an Essex nursing home aged 33 in the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. My current theory is that after they were married (and they had a child), they opted in different ways to join the war effort

The only military records for Roy I have found on Ancestry are from the Medals Index (no date), which shows:

• Liverpool Regiment Pte 78408, which we now think is the 25th Infantry (Works) Battalion or 25th Labour Company, King’s Liverpool Regiment
• Labour Corps 53690

Since the 25th was formed 29 Mar 17, presumably in Liverpool, it seems a good bet that Roy enlisted on that date.

 

I understand that the LC 90 Coy (90th Labour Company, XIII Corps, 4th Army) arrived in France in March 1917 and remained until April 1919. Your data from John Starling's research goes to 28 Nov 1918. I wonder whether you have data for December 1918 that could answer whether Roy returned to the UK before then. For, unless Roy was given compassionate leave to attend his wife (did it exist then?) or was sent home after the November 1918 Armistice, he may not have even known his wife Cassie was in hospital and would not have been able to attend her funeral in St. Helens, Lancs, 10 December 1918. That would be a double tragedy but I guess it happened frequently in WW1.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

In anticipation, many thanks

 

Best

 

John

[MaxD]

There is no reason to suppose that, assuming the family informed the authorities, he would not in principle have been able to be sent home on compassionate leave which did most certainly exist. 

 

However, as you've probably realised by now, the info earlier in the thread, valuable as it is, simply shows where references to the existence of 90 Company has been found in higher level diaries.  The release of one man to compassionate leave is not likely to appear so, as has been said before, without his record it cannot be be checked one way or another.

 

Max 

 

 

[johneowens]

Thanks, Max. Sort of expected that to be so. But, reassuring that compassionate leave was an option. Whether Roy applied for it would depend on the condition of his marriage relationship.

 

Best

 

John